The nation's high court agreed Monday to decide whether the tiny Mount Lemmon Fire District -- and any other small government employer -- is exempt from age-discrimination laws. In a brief order, the U.S. Supreme Court said it wants to hear arguments by the district that it cannot be sued by two fire fighters who were let go by the district in 2009.
- PUB DATE: 2/27/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Arizona Daily Sun

Sometimes cuddly teddy bears just don’t work in calming a child or young adult being transported by ambulance to the hospital. Bill Carey, a firefighter/EMT with Newington Fire Department, was recently watching a TV program about autism that talked about stimulation devices. An idea was born, and with a few inexpensive items purchased at Walmart, Carey invented a gadget that he hopes will work with patients who have autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or anxiety.
- PUB DATE: 2/27/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Seacoast Online

Boone County Fire Protection District 2 Trustee Kevin Stark has resigned his appointed position amid controversy over a profane sign he planted in front of his Marengo trucking and concrete business earlier this month. The District 2 Board of Trustees accepted Stark’s resignation during a board meeting Monday.
- PUB DATE: 2/27/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Rockford Register Star

On February 26, 4 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

VIDEO: In April 2015, 19-year-old Brody Austin, passed away after a motorcycle accident in Beloit. Because of first responders, his family was able to donate his organs and save six lives. Now, almost three years later, his mother shared her appreciation and met the firefighters and emergency room doctor who cared for Austin and the people he saved.
- PUB DATE: 2/26/2018 8:49:12 PM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

Sun Prairie Fire Chief Chris Garrison recently announced John Austad as the training chief for the Sun Prairie Fire Department. "As the City and Towns we serve continue to grow, and our organization takes on new levels of service, training curriculums must not only prepare personnel for their roles during response but also provide experience for individuals and the decision making they must be prepared to use," Garrison said in a release announcing the appointment.
- PUB DATE: 2/26/2018 6:34:05 PM - SOURCE: Sun Prairie Star

The third episode of “Project Pitch It” season 2 on Saturday introduced three new Wisconsin entrepreneurs to viewers, who competed for three prizes. The Northern Star eight-directional compass. They were: Eau Claire-based Northern Star Fire LLC; Milwaukee-based Kiddie Mobile LLC; and Sheboygan-based VibeTech Inc.
- PUB DATE: 2/26/2018 12:05:06 PM - SOURCE: BizTimes.com

On February 25, 5 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On February 21, 6 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On February 25, 3 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On February 24, 2 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

VIDEO: Investigators are working to determine what caused a trailer home fire that killed one person Sunday morning in Lincoln County. According to a press release from the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department, a 911 call for a report of a structure fire came in around 7:45 a.m. The fire happened at the Clear Lake Condos on County Road A in the Town of Bradley, north of Tomahawk.
- PUB DATE: 2/26/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WSAW-TV CBS 7

Allentown’s firefighter union issued a letter threatening to pursue legal action against Mayor Ed Pawlowski as a result of his testimony Thursday. Pawlowski, who testified in his own defense during his federal corruption trial, said while under oath that he had his City Hall office swept for listening devices due to actions by the fire union.
- PUB DATE: 2/26/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Allentown Morning Call

On a June day in 2017, Anchorage firefighter Ben Schultz took a horrific fall from a 100-foot-tall ladder. While the Anchorage Fire Deptartment deemed its investigation of the situation inconclusive - stating they couldn't determine a specific cause of Schultz's fall, which apparently happened on a training day - one thing was certain: He was on the edge of death after suffering serious injuries, including broken bones, a punctured lung and severe brain damage.
- PUB DATE: 2/26/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTUU-TV NBC 2 Anchorage

A fire engine ran out of water before a second engine crew was able to re-establish a water supply to fight a fatal fire in Elgin this year, according to documents obtained by The Courier-News. Elgin fire Chief David Schmidt said that, according to radio communications, firefighters at the scene were without water for 77 seconds while trying to extinguish the blaze in a mobile home in which a 63-year-old man died.
- PUB DATE: 2/26/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Tribune

A “sarcastic” firefighter got a verbal reprimand recently for his response to a caller who asked firefighters to rescue a cat from a tree, according to the fire chief. A young girl posted on social media on behalf of her mother that the firefighter who took the call was “extremely rude” and that he suggested the cat would eventually get out of the tree on its own: He said he had never seen a cat skeleton in a tree before, and that cats have nine lives.
- PUB DATE: 2/26/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Worcester Telegram

Fighting fires is Alan Ziff's life's work. More than that, it is his passion. Ziff, 62, has been involved in fire fighting for 34 years. He quit counting the structure fires he battled when the number hit 1,000. What makes someone run into a burning building, while the first reaction of most people (or rats, cockroaches and just about every other mobile organism) is to get the heck out of there? "It takes a certain type of person," said Ziff, who is the chair of the Fire Science Department and Fire Academy director at Pueblo Community College.
- PUB DATE: 2/26/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Pueblo Chieftain

VIDEO: Katie Montgomery was spending time with her granddaughters Sunday morning when her husband broke the news. “My husband came in and said, 'Whoa, did you hear about the Chocolaterian? And I said, 'No what? He said it burned up,” Montgomery said. “I was like, oh my God.” A fire broke out earlier Sunday morning at the Chocolaterian -- a popular cafe on Madison's east side.
- PUB DATE: 2/25/2018 9:00:11 PM - SOURCE: WKOW-TV 27 ABC

VIDEO: A snowmobile fell through the ice Saturday in Oneida County. According to a Facebook post from Pine Lake Fire Rescue, a report of a man laying on the ice near open water came in around 2:30 p.m. on the bridge at County Road W near Birchwood Drive near Rhinelander. The department says the man was on his snowmobile when the ice broke and went into the water.
- PUB DATE: 2/25/2018 3:38:33 PM - SOURCE: WSAW-TV CBS 7 Wausau

VIDEO: Police and fire departments work side-by-side responding to 911 calls. But De Pere Fire Chief Alan Matzke says that also involves the same risks, "We don't know if they have weapons in that home, we don't know as to their mental health, so we find ourselves in a vulnerable position." That's why he says they're taking their partnership into the classroom.
- PUB DATE: 2/25/2018 3:25:17 PM - SOURCE: WLUK TV Fox 11